Immortal Empire by developer Tactic Studios is a turn-based tactical RPG that may be hit or miss for some players, as the game is currently in its early stages of release and may need some bug fixes worked out before finding a larger audience. That’s not saying that the experience won’t be fun, as the in-game community is full of very cool and helpful people who are always willing to lend a hand to new players who are willing to tackle The Gauntlet (the best place for loot and XP).

Immortal Empire puts you in the shoes of a newly made immortal who is to follow the instructions of a person who calls himself The Elder without question. He seems incredibly shifty in his responses and you’re not sure if you can really trust him, but he is the only link to finding out who or what you are, so you don’t really have much of a choice. The story is told in JRPG style, with exposition being given through mouth movements on a single picture, much like a Monty Python transition. You’re almost half-expecting tentacles.

The most fun part of Immortal Empire is The Gauntlet, where you and a team of 3 other characters are set against a series of mobs, who get increasingly more difficult to kill with each level. If you die in The Gauntlet, you’re taken out of the level, but you can still play in subsequent levels. It adds a dynamic that puts you in a position where you have to interact with others on the server, which is pretty cool, as I have yet to encounter a bag of douche that thinks they’re God’s gift to the empire. That’s a breath of fresh air in a market saturated by whiny, pimple-faced, 15 year-olds on their mom’s laptop trying to hide the fact that they’re awkward around girls while misplacing their rage against people just trying to have fun.

The game is implemented through browser javascript, and I used Mozilla’s Firefox to stumble my way around the user interface, which can take some adjustment. The user-interface is pretty simple, though it may be difficult for beginners to utilize early on in the game. Buttons are found on the bottom right-hand corner, and screen orientation can be a hindrance, as using CTRL+MOUSE SCROLL WHEEL UP OR DOWN will hide a lot of what you need to see. Again, Immortal Empire is in its early stages of development, so this bug will be fixed soon.

It plays much like a pen and paper RPG, or a table-top game like Warhammer, with each move counting as a single turn. It’s a game mechanic that is similar to games like X-Com and Shadowrun Returns, for those who aren’t familiar with table-top gaming. Gameplay is a bit slow and methodical, as moving around the map requires patience from its players, with movement counted as a single turn instead of having your entire party move at the same time until you encounter a battle. Patience is the key word in that last statement, as multiplayer may be a bit annoying when you have to wait for other players to finish their move before continuing, which breaks up the gameplay in a way that does make it feel like you’re playing baseball with a team of four fat kids where you have to wait your turn in the dugout while everyone takes their turn striking out… or worse, hitting the ball and having to waddle back to home base.

All-in-all, the game is worth checking out and won’t hit you too hard in the pocket. You can power level your characters and earn a huge amount of coin, experience, and rewards through The Gauntlet, which actually makes the entire experience enjoyable. There is also a PvP mode, but I found co-op to be much more rewarding. To each their own.